Man in custody after SWAT standoff in Cardiff

ENCINITAS (CNS) - A suspect armed with a rifle holed up for about two hours Wednesday in a Cardiff-area apartment with an 8-year-old boy inside, prompting a law enforcement standoff that ended with a SWAT team using beanbag rounds to get the man into custody.

Deputies were sent about 4 p.m. to investigate a disturbance in an apartment complex in the 2300 block of Carol View Drive, according to San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Bligh.

"Upon arriving on scene, deputies encountered a man with a rife inside an apartment with an 8-year-old child," Bligh said. "The man refused to come out, but deputies continued to talk to the suspect."

A SWAT team and crisis negotiators were called in, but despite repeated calls for him to surrender, the suspect remained inside, Bligh said.

The man was talked into dropping his rifle, which allowed SWAT deputies to blast him with less-lethal bean bag rounds, Bligh said.

"The suspect was taken into custody with minor injuries," Bligh said. "The boy was not hurt."

The apartment complex was briefly evacuated during the standoff, which ended shortly before 6 p.m.